Editing Area code 867

{{short description|Telephone area code for the northern Canadian territories}}
[[Image:Area Code 867.png|thumb|275px|Canada's numbering plan area 867]]

'''Area code 867''' is the [[area code]] in the [[North American Numbering Plan]] (NANP) for the three [[Canadian territories]], all of which are in [[Northern Canada]]. The area code was created on October 21, 1997, by combining regions that were previously served with [[area code 403]] and [[area code 819]] in one numbering plan area (NPA). As the least populated NPA in mainland North America, serving about 130,000 people, it is geographically the largest, at {{convert|3,921,739|km2|abbr=on}}, with [[Alaska]] ([[Area code 907|907]]) a distant second.

The numbering plan area is adjacent to seven provinces (Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Quebec) and one [[U.S. state]] (Alaska), as well as [[Greenland]] and [[Russia]] (across the [[North Pole]]), more jurisdictions than any other in North America. It is also one of two Canadian area codes that are not part of an [[overlay plan|overlay numbering plan]], the other being [[area code 807|807]].

The [[incumbent local exchange carrier]] for area code 867 is [[Northwestel]], a subsidiary of [[BCE Inc.|BCE]]. Until 1964, the geographic area served today by 867 had [[Northwestel#postwar development|up to five independent telephone companies]], as well as [[Bell Canada]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2011}}

==History==
In 1947, [[Alberta]] was assigned area code 403 in the first continent-wide telephone numbering plan by the [[American Telephone and Telegraph Company]] (AT&T).<ref name="mabbs1947">{{cite journal |last1=Mabbs |first1=Ralph |title=Nation-Wide Operator Toll Dialing—the Coming Way |journal=Bell Telephone Magazine |date=Winter 1947–1948 |volume=26 |issue=4 |page=181 |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_bell-telephone-magazine_winter-1947-1948_26_4/page/n5/ |access-date=2023-09-26}}</ref> When service became available from local regional carriers, individual locations in [[Yukon]] and the west of the [[Northwest Territories]] were served via the area code of the carrier.
These companies were eventually merged into Canadian National Telecommunications, a subsidiary of the [[Canadian National Railway]]. CNT's operations in the territories became [[Northwestel]] in 1979.

The eastern Northwest Territories were among the last areas of North America without telephone service. When the area code system was created, the region was effectively served by western [[Quebec]]'s [[area code 514]].{{cn|date=May 2023}} In 1957, those non-diallable areas were reassigned to eastern Quebec's [[area code 418]].{{cn|date=May 2023}} [[Bell Canada]] introduced telephone service in the eastern Northwest Territories in 1958. As [[direct distance dialing]] (DDD) was rolled out in this area in the 1970s, the eastern Northwest Territories and a large swath of northwestern Quebec were reassigned to western Quebec's area code 819. Bell Canada sold its northern service territory to Northwestel in 1992. In 1993, Bell Communications Research, functioning as the [[North American Numbering Plan Administration]] listed the vast majority of the territories with [[area code 403]].<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://www.nanpa.com/sites/default/files/planning_letters/IL-93-01-017.pdf
|title=Status of Numbering Plan Area (NPA) Codes in World Zone 1
|date=1993-01-13
|publisher=Bellcore (NANPA)
|access-date=2025-02-26
}}</ref>

Until area code 867 was created, area codes 403 and 819 had been geographically the two largest in the North American Numbering Plan. The area code commenced service on October 21, 1997.<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://www.nanpa.com/sites/default/files/planning_letters/PL-013.pdf
|title=NANP–Introduction of New 867 (Yukon & Northwest Territories) Numbering Plan Area (NPA)
|date=1996-09-30
|publisher=NANPA
|access-date=2025-02-26
}}</ref> Since its creation, all of the former 819 portion of the Northwest Territories, as well as the portion of the former 403 portion covering five exchanges, has become part of [[Nunavut]]. The split reduced area code 403 for service of Alberta only.

All existing central office prefixes, with one exception, were retained in the change to area code 867. An assignment conflict between 403-979 at [[Inuvik]] and 819-979 at [[Iqaluit]] was resolved by changing Inuvik from 403-979 to 867-777. A minor programming error allowed for a few weeks late in 1997 callers in the Inuvik area to dial 403-777 and reach Inuvik when they actually should have routed to [[Calgary]], which appeared on customer's bills, along with the higher rate.

[[File:NorthAreaCodeEvolution.JPG|center|Evolution of area codes in northern territories{{cn|date=May 2023}}]]
Northwestel's proposal for a new regulatory regime was approved for 2007 to allow resale of local telephone service, but no competitors entered the market to avail themselves of the resale option. In 2011, facilities-based local service competition was approved by the [[Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission]] (CRTC) and so additional central office codes are now required for competitive carriers wishing to offer local service. The expense limits deployment so far to [[Whitehorse, Yukon|Whitehorse]], [[Yellowknife]], Inuvik, [[Behchokǫ̀]], [[Aklavik]] and [[Hay River, Northwest Territories|Hay River]], four of which already have multiple prefixes. Communities that now have only one prefix are not likely to need a second prefix other than for local growth or the entry of a competitor (as in Aklavik and the twin Behchokǫ̀ communities, Rae-Edzo{{efn|Behchokǫ̀ has two separate exchange areas, each with its own prefix, but Iristel's 292 prefix is overlaid, with both using independent facilities}}).

The sparsely-populated area is unlikely to exhaust telephone numbers in the foreseeable future.

in June 2021, the CRTC recommended implementing the three-digit code 9-8-8 for the nationwide suicide prevention hotline. The CRTC decision followed the decision of the US [[Federal Communications Commission]] to adopt 9-8-8 as the number for the [[National Suicide Prevention Lifeline]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2021/2021-191.htm |title=Telecom Notice of Consultation CRTC 2021-191 |publisher=Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission |date=June 3, 2021 |accessdate=June 21, 2021}}</ref> 988 was already in use as a local exchange in the Yellowknife area, which would require [[ten-digit dialing]] in area code 867. In August 2022, the CRTC finalized its implementation plans for 9-8-8, effective November 30, 2023; it accepted a request from Northwestel to make ten-digit dialing mandatory only in the Yellowknife area and optional elsewhere within the region as of May 31, 2023, in part because it would ease the process of communicating the transition to remote communities and in Indigenous languages.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2022/2022-234.htm|title=Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2022-234: Introduction of 9-8-8 as the three-digit abbreviated dialing code for mental health crisis and suicide prevention services and Northwestel Inc.'s application for modified implementation of ten-digit local dialing|author=[[Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission]]|date=August 31, 2022|access-date=September 6, 2022}}</ref>

==Numbering plan area==
Area code 867 is the most expensive geographic destination in Canada.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://les.net/azrates.php |title=Archived copy |website=les.net |access-date=26 January 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130831135055/https://les.net/azrates.php |archive-date=31 August 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Iristel]], the major [[Competitive local exchange carrier|CLEC]] in the region, bills subscribers in other area codes a 15¢/minute premium to call 867-numbers, and charges a [[Canadian dollar|$]]20/year premium to issue a 867-number in-region instead of assigning the same subscriber any other Canadian area code.<ref>{{cite news|author=Andrew Robulack |url=https://www.yukon-news.com/letters-opinions/its-time-to-ditch-867-6982462 |title=It's time to ditch 867 |publisher=Yukon News |access-date=2013-06-10}}</ref>

The digits of the area code were reportedly chosen to promote the theme "TOP of the world", as 867 spells ''TOP'' on a standard [[North America]]n keypad.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Bowen|first=Dana|title=The Call of the North|magazine=[[Up Here (magazine)|Up Here]]|volume=37|issue=3|page=17|date=May–June 2021}}</ref> When combined with the NANP international dialing code ''1'', it spells ''1867'', which is the year of [[Canadian Confederation]].

The area code serves the largest land area of any area code in the NANP. The territorial extent reaches {{convert|3,173|km|abbr=on}} from [[Qikiqtaaluk, Unorganized|Cape Dyer]] on [[Baffin Island]] to the Alaska border, and {{convert|4,391|km|abbr=on}} from the south end of [[James Bay]] to the [[North Pole]]. The largest distances between exchanges are {{convert|2,200|km |abbr=on}} from [[Sanikiluaq]] to [[Grise Fiord]], and {{convert|3,365|km|abbr=on}} from [[Beaver Creek, Yukon|Beaver Creek]] to [[Pangnirtung]]. Four different official [[time zone]]s are observed within the area: [[Eastern Time Zone|Eastern]], [[Central Time Zone|Central]], [[Mountain Time Zone|Mountain]], and [[Pacific Time Zone|Pacific]].

===Exchanges===
Area code 867 serves all points in the three Canadian territories, the [[Northwest Territories]], [[Nunavut]], and [[Yukon]]

Some exchanges in the territories serve some customers in [[Fraser, British Columbia|Fraser]] and [[Swan Lake, Stikine Region, British Columbia|Swan Lake]], British Columbia (from [[Carcross]] and [[Swift River, Yukon|Swift River]], respectively). [[Fitzgerald, Alberta]], is served from [[Fort Smith, Northwest Territories]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Canadian Numbering Plan and Dialling Plan|url=http://www.cnac.ca/canadian_dial_plan/Canadian_Numbering_and_Dial_Plan.pdf|publisher=The Canadian Steering Committee on Numbering (CSCN)|access-date=March 26, 2014|date=October 26, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105012402/http://www.cnac.ca/canadian_dial_plan/Canadian_Numbering_and_Dial_Plan.pdf|archive-date=November 5, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> On a section of the [[Alaska Highway]] which crosses the BC-Yukon  border six times in {{convert|6|mi|abbr=on}}, two highway lodges and area residents on the Yukon side are served by [[Watson Lake, Yukon|Watson Lake]] (867) numbers, not the nearer [[Lower Post]] ([[area code 250|250]]) exchange.

{{Div col}}
* [[Aklavik]], NT: 375, 978
* [[Arctic Bay]], NU: 439
* [[Arviat]], NU: 205, 232, 341, 857
* [[Baker Lake, Nunavut|Baker Lake]], NU: 793
* [[Beaver Creek, Yukon|Beaver Creek]], YT: 362 862
* [[Behchokǫ̀]], NT: 292, 371, 392, 492, 731
* [[Cambridge Bay]], NU: 391 983
* [[Cape Dorset]], NU: 897
* [[Carcross]], YT: 733, 821
* [[Carmacks, Yukon|Carmacks]], YT: 385, 863
* [[Chesterfield Inlet]], NU: 898
* [[Clyde River, Nunavut|Clyde River]], NU: 924
* [[Colville Lake, Northwest Territories|Colville Lake]], NT: 709, 722
* [[Coral Harbour]], NU: 925
* [[Dawson City]], YT: 730, 991, 992, 993
* [[Délı̨nę]], NT: 589, 744
* [[Destruction Bay]], YT: 789, 841
* [[Ekati Diamond Mine]], NT: 880
* [[Elsa, Yukon|Elsa]], YT: 995
* [[Enterprise, Northwest Territories|Enterprise]], NT: 984
* [[Faro, Yukon|Faro]], YT: 746 994
* [[Fort Good Hope]], NT: 496, 598
* [[Fort Liard]], NT: 770
* [[Fort McPherson, Northwest Territories|Fort McPherson]], NT: 377, 952
* [[Fort Providence]], NT: 373, 699
* [[Fort Resolution]], NT: 376, 394
* [[Fort Simpson]], NT: 695
* [[Fort Smith, Northwest Territories|Fort Smith]], NT: 621, 870, 872
* [[Gamèti]], NT: 365, 997
* [[Gjoa Haven]], NU: 360
* [[Grise Fiord]], NU: 980
* [[Haines Junction]], YT: 323, 634
* [[Hall Beach]], NU: 928
* [[Hay River, Northwest Territories|Hay River]], NT: 775, 874, 875, 876
* [[Igloolik]], NU: 201, 324, 934
* [[Inuvik]], NT: 620, 678, 768, 777, 888
* [[Iqaluit]], NU: 202, 222, 223, 794, 877, 974, 975, 979
* [[Jean Marie River]], NT: 491, 809
* [[Kakisa]], NT: 493, 825
* [[Kimmirut]], NU: 939
* [[Kugaaruk]], NU: 769
* [[Kugluktuk]], NU: 982
* [[Łutselk'e]], NT: 370, 785
* [[Marsh Lake, Yukon|Marsh Lake]], YT: 660
* [[Mayo, Yukon|Mayo]], YT: 383, 996
* [[Nahanni Butte]], NT: 364, 602
* [[Nanisivik]], NU: 436
* [[Norman Wells]], NT: 587
* [[Old Crow, Yukon|Old Crow]], YT: 325, 966
* [[Pangnirtung]], NU: 473
* [[Paulatuk]], NT: 580, 788
* [[Pelly Crossing]], YT: 537
* [[Pond Inlet]], NU: 899
* [[Qikiqtarjuaq]], NU: 927
* [[Rankin Inlet]], NU: 645
* [[Naujaat]], NU: 462
* [[Resolute, Nunavut|Resolute]], NU: 252
* [[Ross River, Yukon|Ross River]], YT: 747 969
* [[Sachs Harbour]], NT: 690, 786
* [[Sambaa Kʼe]], NT: 206
* [[Sanikiluaq]], NU: 266
* [[Swift River, Yukon|Swift River]], YT: 851
* [[Tagish, Yukon|Tagish]], YT: 399 748
* [[Taloyoak]], NU: 561
* [[Teslin, Yukon|Teslin]], YT: 384, 390
* [[Tsiigehtchic]], NT: 490, 953
* [[Tuktoyaktuk]], NT: 340, 977
* [[Tulita]], NT: 374, 588
* [[Ulukhaktok]], NT: 396, 787
* [[Watson Lake, Yukon|Watson Lake]], YT: 536, 749
* [[Wekweeti]], NT: 713 745
* [[Whale Cove, Nunavut|Whale Cove]], NU: 896
* [[Whatì]], NT: 494, 573
* [[Whitehorse, Yukon|Whitehorse]], YT: 322, 332, 333, 334, 335, 336, 337, 393, 455, 456, 457, 465, 466, 467, 469,                         470, 471, 632, 633, 667, 668, 689 
* [[Wrigley, Northwest Territories|Wrigley]], NT: 495, 581
* [[Yellowknife]], NT: 200, 444, 445, 446, 447, 669, 675, 676, 677, 679, 680, 681, 682, 688, 765, 766, 767, 783, 873, 920, 988, 999
* Premium numbers: 976.
{{Div col end}}

[[Ellesmere Island]] is the northernmost terrestrial point in Canada. On Ellesmere, conventional telephony is available at [[Grise Fiord]] (1-867-980-xxxx), population 130, but not at two remote government outposts further north: [[Eureka, Nunavut]] (80.1°N) is host to an [[Environment and Climate Change Canada|Environment Canada]] weather station<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ec.gc.ca/scitech/default.asp?lang=En&n=52F708A1-1|title=Nunavut environmental science centres - Canada.ca|first=Environment and Climate Change|last=Canada|website=Ec.gc.ca|access-date=15 January 2018}}</ref> and [[Alert, Nunavut]] (82°N) is a Canadian Forces Station.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rcaf-arc.forces.gc.ca/en/8-wing/alert.page|title=Canadian Forces Station Alert - 8 Wing - Royal Canadian Air Force|first=Government of Canada, National Defence, Royal Canadian Air|last=Force|website=Rcaf-arc.forces.gc.ca|access-date=15 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924090025/http://www.rcaf-arc.forces.gc.ca/en/8-wing/alert.page|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The only outside communication to Eureka is via satellite;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wattsupwiththat.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/visitor_guide_to_eureka_apr_2010.pdf|title=A VISITOR'S GUIDE TO EUREKA|website=Wattsupwiththat.files.wordpress.com|access-date=15 January 2018}}</ref> the weather station lists various extensions of an [[Ottawa]] [[Area codes 613 and 343|613]] federal number, an [[Iridium satellite constellation|Iridium]] [[satellite phone]] or the [[Winnipeg]] [[Area codes 204 and 431|204]] number of a main Environment Canada office.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/psd/iasoa/sites/default/facilities_ajax.php?obs=alert&idfacility=3 |title=Archived copy |access-date=2015-01-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150111204124/http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/psd/iasoa/sites/default/facilities_ajax.php?obs=alert&idfacility=3 |archive-date=2015-01-11 |url-status=dead }}</ref> As Eureka is at the northern limit of access to [[geosynchronous satellite]] signals, a string of military terrestrial [[Ultra high frequency|UHF]] links extends the signal from "Fort Eureka" to [[CFS Alert]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jproc.ca/rrp/alert.html|title=CFS Alert|first=Jerry|last=Proc|website=Jproc.ca|access-date=15 January 2018}}</ref> There is a skeleton crew at each location which is reachable by Internet or telephone, but these links are satellite or military communication and do not use the area code 867 infrastructure.

==See also==
{{Portal|Canada}}
* [[Area code 600]], a rarely used non-geographic prefix which includes caller-pays satellite telephony in the high Arctic
* [[Telephone numbers in Canada]]
* [[Canadian Numbering Administration Consortium]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.localcallingguide.com/lca_prefix.php?npa=867 Area code 867] on localcallingguide.com
*[http://polar.nrcan.gc.ca/about/facility_e.php?id=15 Natural Resources Canada, Polar Continental Shelf Project - Eureka Weather Station]
*[http://www.cnac.ca/area_code_maps/canadian_area_codes.htm Area Code Map of Canada]
*[https://cnac.ca/co_codes/co_code_lookup.htm]
{{center|{{Area code box|This=Area Code 867|State=NT
| N=[[Arctic Ocean]], [[List of country calling codes#Zone 7|Country code]] [[+7]] in [[Russia]]
| S=[[area code 204|204]]/[[area code 431|431]], [[area code 250|250]]/[[area code 778|778]]/[[area code 236|236]]/[[area code 672|672]], [[area code 306|306]]/[[area code 639|639]], [[area code 705|705/249]], [[area code 709|709]], [[area code 780|780]]/[[Area code 403|403]]/[[area code 587|587]]/[[area code 825|825]]/[[Area code 368|368]], [[area code 807|807]], [[area code 819|819]]/[[area code 873|873]]
| E=[[Atlantic Ocean]], [[List of country calling codes#Zone 2|Country code]] [[+299]] in [[Greenland]]
| W=[[area code 907|907]]
|S1=AK|S2=AB|S3=BC|S4=MB|S5=NL|S6=ON|S7=SK|S8=QC}}}}

{{Area code list}}

{{coord|66.52|N|109.26|W|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Area Code 867}}
[[Category:Communications in Yukon]]
[[Category:Communications in the Northwest Territories]]
[[Category:Communications in Nunavut]]
[[Category:Area codes in Canada|867]]
[[Category:1997 establishments in Canada]]